Morning Road Map

By Michelle Levi and Steve Chaggaris

McCain campaigns in Florida today where he will address the National Urban League at their annual conference at 11am in Orlando. At 1:30 pm, he will meet with voters at Pancho's Restaurant in Orlando. McCain will hold a press conference at 4:30 pm in Panama City Beach. Following a closed fundraiser, he then will stop by a concert with John Rich, of the country duo Big and Rich. This weekend McCain is in Washington, D.C. for meetings and interviews.

Obama also campaigns in Florida today where he hosts a 10am town hall meeting on economic security in St. Petersburg, FL. He will stop by a farmer's market in Polk County on the way to a 3:30 pm meeting with families and business owners at a home dealership in Lakeland where they'll discuss the mortgage crisis. Later he'll campaign in Orlando and tomorrow, Obama will address the National Urban League's conference.

Obama mistakenly referred to Britney Spears as "Hillary" last night at a Houston fundraiser. He quickly corrected himself after this brief stumble: "At a time when we've got bigger challenges than any time in our history and you're running ads with Hillary and er – with Britney and ah Paris in it. I mean come on. The American people deserve better."

At an earlier Houston fundraiser, Obama called the McCain campaign's use of Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears in a recent ad an "intellectually bankrupt." Finally, he noted that his host city was "doing okay right now" due to the oil boom but said even veteran oil men, like T. Boone Pickens, who are advocating for alternative energy, are "onto something here."

McCAIN vs. OBAMA: RACE
NY Times, "McCain Camp Says Obama Is Playing 'Race Card'"

Washington Post, "Race Moves to Center Stage"

Politico, "Race issue moves to center of campaign"

Chicago Tribune, "Race ignites campaign debate"

NY Daily News, "John McCain camp accuses Barack Obama of playing the race card"

Washington Post's Robinson, "So Much for St. John": "It's awfully early for John McCain to be running such a desperate, ugly campaign against Barack Obama. But I guess it's useful for Democrats to get a reminder that the Republican Party plays presidential politics by the same moral code that guided the bad-boy Oakland Raiders in their heyday: 'Just win, baby.'"

NY Times editorial board, "Say What? John McCain, Barack Obama, and the Race Card"

McCAIN vs. OBAMA: ISSUES
Detroit Free Press, "McCain's stance on oil drilling resonates with voters"

Associated Press, "Obama risks voter ire by opposing new oil drilling"

Wall Street Journal, "McCain, Obama Tilt Over Taxes"

Washington Post, "Campaigns' Iraq Stances Seem to Hit a Middle Ground"

USA Today, "Attacks are order of the day"

VEEPSTAKES
Washington Post's Gerson says Gov. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is "a serious vice presidential possibility. His social justice Catholicism fits seamlessly with Barack Obama's social gospel Protestantism. Kaine has a strong civil rights background -- as a lawyer at a small firm, he represented clients in housing discrimination and death penalty cases. He has been only a modestly successful governor but proved capable of rising to a large moment in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings. While lacking foreign policy background, Kaine (like Obama) is viewed by national Democrats as a quick study. But Kaine's performance on life issues is like watching a contortionist on a tightrope."

Wall Street Journal, "Kaine's Versatile Appeal Gives Him a Shot to Run With Obama"

Washington Times on Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Alaska, and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, "McCain VP talk turns to two female conservatives"

Newsday, "Group: Clinton out of running for VP post"

HILLARY CLINTON
"I am so honored to have her support. I'm a better candidate because of her outstanding work and the great campaign she ran and I just want to publicly say how much I admire her and how proud I am of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton," Obama told an AFSCME convention during an address via satellite Thursday. He said that while McCain has shown "moments of independence from his party…such independence isn't characteristic of his presidential campaign."

San Francisco Chronicle, "Hillary Clinton rouses union workers in S.F."

LA Times, "For Clinton supporters, it's a gender issue"

San Jose Mercury News, "Clinton to attend Los Altos Hills fundraiser co-hosted by her own, Obama backers"

CAMPAIGN ADS
Washington Post, "McCain's Ad Formula Employs Lowest Common Denominator"

Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Minnesota no battleground state for ads"

Politicker Ohio, "McCain ad about 'celebrity' pushes Ohio total to $6M"

Politico, "McCain's Internet edge: Ad price"

DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
KCNC-TV, "DNC 2004 In Boston Wasn't A Hit For Locals"

Bloomberg News, "Obama Opens Platform to Rank and File as Focus Turns to Economy"

NY Times, "Judge to Rule on Limits at Denver Convention"

ALSO:
Wall Street Journal's Cook, "60 Years Later: Another 'Dewey Beats Truman' Election?"

Washington Post, "Rappers' Shout-Outs Make Obama Skip a Beat"

Wall Street Journal asks, "Too Fit to Be President? Facing an Overweight Electorate, Barack Obama Might Find Low Body Fat a Drawback"

Des Moines Register, "Flood victims to Obama: Speed up federal aid"

Anchorage Daily News, "Stevens' trial scheduled before election"